Words for a Detective and Idol
by CrookedMouse
Summary: One word prompts for Naoto/Rise. Rating for safety, Please Read and Review!
1. Stew and Fight

**A.N.- Hello! This is actually my second fanfic (sort of). It's my first time writing these characters, so I apologize if they are ooc (the second prompt is supposed to be ooc for Rise). **

**I really hope you enjoy and may good luck find you!**

**I don't own Persona 4 nor the characters.**

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><p><span>Stew<span>

"Never let Rise cook for you," Yosuke had said when they announced that they were dating. "Trust me, it will not end well. I'm looking out for you dude." Of course, Naoto thought that they were exaggerating, they have done that before. Even if Yu had joined in on the warnings, with Teddie and Kanji agreeing with them, Naoto wanted proof before doubting Rise's abilities to cook (she was a gentleman, after all). Naoto received her proof when Rise insisted on making her dinner one night.

Naoto was a bit skeptical (she was still new to trusting another so much), but knew that if she didn't agree, Rise would continue to pout until she said yes. Rise's joy was clearly shown on her face.

"Don't worry Naoto; I'll make sure it's the best! Those guys had no idea of taste!" Rise kissed the detective's cheek and giggled at her blush before running off to the kitchen.

When the dish was finally complete, Rise hurried to bring it to Naoto.

"Shouldn't you have some as well? It wouldn't be polite if I ate your food," Naoto questioned.

"Don't be silly, I made it for you! I'll have some as soon as I know if you like it!" Rise laughed at Naoto's awkwardness but still pulled the smaller girl to eat.

"Alright," Naoto sighed and proceeded to take the first bite. She felt under pressure almost with Rise watching her every move, but Naoto knew she had her heart in the right place.

This made it even worse when Naoto took the first bite and immediately had to down a glass of water.

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><p><span>Fight<span>

Rise wasn't a fighter. That was clear.

Her persona was used for scanning shadows and helping the real fighters. Her body was thin from all the modeling couches trying to have teens with unrealistic proportions. She never could handle the others weapons; though to be fair, some were rather odd (a fan, a chair, and wenches, really?). However, the newest member's weapon caught Rise's eye.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Naoto asked, bringing Rise out of her own thoughts.

"Oh, umm," Rise mumbled, making Naoto even more curious. Rise was almost always bouncing off the walls figuratively…sometimes… "Umm, how did you get your gun? I mean, people would normally think twice about such a thing." Naoto was now confused, but she kept stoic.

"I'm a detective; they allowed it as soon as I passed their tests. The Shirogane family held this gun for a long time, so once I was old enough, I obtained the license," Naoto said; repeating it so statically that Rise knew people questioned her judgment all the time. Rise nodded saying nothing more, but continued staring at it even when Naoto was reloading it. Eventually, her uncharacteristic responses and actions made Naoto worried about Rise.

"How do you fire it?" Rise asked after a long amount of silence (too long for Rise normally, Naoto thought). Naoto looked at her with a questioning stare before motioning that she sits down beside her. When she flopped down, Naoto told her how it fires, the safety, and all precautions that came with the weapon.

"Of course it will run out of bullets eventually, it is a rather old model," Naoto explained. "Once that happens, you need to be rather quick with reloading, whether against shadows or criminals." Naoto paused to show Rise how her gun reloads. "It's rather different against a shadow however; some won't even flinch or be harmed in any way by bullets. If that happens, all I can do is summon Sukuna-Hikona or aim for parts that look like joints," Naoto pointed at Rise's shoulder for an example. "Sometimes, neither works." Rise was now glowing red and shaking. "Rise, are you alright?" Naoto looked worried at the idol to see what the problem was, only for Rise to prop up her arms onto her knees and bury her head inside.

"At least you can do anything," Rise gave a muffled response. "I'm practically useless. All I can do is give information on a shadow that sempai probably knows already. I can't even defend myself and you guys get hurt to protect me." Naoto sighed, having a sense of understanding and empathy for the idol. Uselessness was a feeling she knew all too well. Naoto knew she had to do something and stood up. Her next words had to be careful; for Rise's sake.

"You give us shadow's weaknesses and strengths; if it were not for that we would have to use trial and error for every new enemy." The idol still remained silent, so Naoto tried her best to have another method. "Plus, we would have to trust Chie on remembering that some shadows absorb ice attacks." She managed to get a chuckle out of Rise, who was there when Chie accidently used Bufu on Shadow Teddie, healing him greatly.

"How about we start with some self-defense then?" Rise looked up at her, eyes shimmering with tears and her face red. Naoto tried to give Rise her best reassuring smile. "I can't have you operate a gun without a license nor is it good for shadows, but learning self-defense should help, right?"

Naoto held out her hand, only to be tackled by Rise.

"Thank you!" Rise laughed, "I probably would be better without a gun. I'd probably shoot Kanji by accident!"

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><p><strong>More to Come! Please Read and Review!<strong>


	2. Silence, Wealth, and Dancing

**A.N.- Hello again! Just to let you all know, this will not be updated on any sort of schedule. I will try to update at least every week.**

**Anyways, enjoy!  
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**I do not own Persona 4. **

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><p><span>Silence<span>

When people would look at the couple they would most likely equate them to the saying "Opposites attract." Rise was very outgoing and Naoto… wasn't the best at human interactions. Rise would thrive on what people thought of her while Naoto was too hurt by them before.

People would actually go up to Rise and ask her if there was a reason why she went out with that 'pint-sized detective'. They would usually jump to over the top conclusions like, "Naoto's blackmailing her" or some such nonsense. Of course it would bother Naoto if people approached her like that; she would act cold to avoid her thoughts; the doubts of Rise actually liking her. Rise found out over the time they spent together that this kid genius could be so stupid sometimes.

"Of course not," Rise replied to every single one of those conclusions. "I love Naoto and Naoto loves me." This would then spawn another type of question, "How do you know? That punk acts distant all the time, even when you're talking to her!"

Rise laughed and would say, "That's for me to know and you to never find out!"

She knew Naoto didn't have a way with words, she didn't have to. Naoto was Naoto, and Rise loved that. She also knew Naoto loved Rise to.

She didn't have to say anything, a small genuine smile and the sincere look in Naoto's eyes told her everything.

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><p><span>Wealthy<span>

It wasn't often Rise got Naoto to tell her more about her herself; half the time it seemed as if she didn't know herself! It was also hard for Rise to stay over at Naoto's house. Not because of permission from Naoto's grandfather (he made it clear he was incredibly happy for them). No, it was because each time Rise asked, Naoto would flush and stammer an excuse before fleeing. Rise was frustrated by this.

She had been to the estate before to check up on Naoto after she got her persona, granted most of the time they were in the living room. She knew Naoto wouldn't have anything that bad in her room (if her constant awkwardness indicated anything) so it couldn't be that bad.

Luckily, fortune seemed to like Rise and gave her a perfect excuse to invade Naoto's home again.

"It's too hot to study…" Rise whined as the bad heat made the patio unbearable.

"Indeed," Naoto nodded, yet still refused to Rise telling her to take off her work clothes. "Maybe it would be better to go inside for this."

"Alright! Let's study in Naoto's room!" Rise shouted before rushing inside.

"W-wait!" Naoto chased after her, making sure Rise didn't run into anything. "Don't go in yet!"

"Too late!" Rise laughed as she made it to the door before her. "It's about time I get to investigate your room!" Naoto blushed at this.

"Rise please! A-at least let me have some time to clean it!"

"Nope, whatever you're hiding (you suck at lying, you know) I want to know!" Rise smiled widely and opened the door only to find-

"I-is that?"

"No."

"Y-you have that?"

"No."

"A-and all of the others?"

"No, you're seeing things."

"I am not 'seeing things' Naoto. Holy crap I never knew they made them that huge!"

"…"

"How did you get that? It must have cost a mountain of money!"

"… I have my own personal funds…"

"Naoto. Seriously? How much do you make?"

"…"

"I never knew you were that big of a fan of Featherman to buy the whole set of models and their giant robot."

"You will speak of this to no one."

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><p><span>Dance<span>

Rise never expected Naoto to be so good at modern dancing. She always picked her as a ballroom/classical type. Then again, she never knew someone could get that high of a score on DDR.

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><p><strong>I hope you all liked it! Please review! I do appreciate constructive criticism. <strong>

**May Fortune Smile Upon You All! - CrookedMouse**


	3. Jokes, Doughnuts, and a Ring

**A.N.- Hey, I'm back! Just to let you know, the snippets may be unrelated, at different times, or in alternate universes. This one actually is in a sort-of flowing narrative. And I know that the day I'm posting this isn't Rise's birthday, but while writing this, it just sorta happened.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

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><p><em><strong>Joke<strong>_

Naoto loved Rise.

"Have you ever eaten a clock? It's very time consuming!" Which was why now, while she'd rather much love to throw that book into the river: it was a birthday gift that Rise very much liked, so she was stuck listening to this. "I used to have a fear of hurdles, but I got over it!"

Naoto loved Rise very much. "I knew a woman who owned a Taser. Man, was she stunning!" But she was going to burn that book. "I once heard a joke about amnesia, but I forgot how it goes!"

Yosuke was going to pay and it will look like an accident.

-Break-

**_Doughnut_**

"You lied…" Rise whined as she lay on Naoto's sofa. The detective looked up from the novel she was reading and gave a questioning look towards the reclined idol.

"What are you referring to?" The idol puffed her cheeks.

"That," she pointed at what Naoto was eating.

"I still don't know what I lied to you about." Naoto could not think of anything that she would lie about doughnuts.

"'I do not have any. That stereotype about the police is false.'" Rise said in a terrible impression of Naoto's voice. She gestured to the box that the detective pulled out earlier. "And there they are."

"Your question made me think to buy you some for when you are over," Naoto answered. She then sat up, took the box, and placed them on the table next to the sofa Rise was on. "Here you are."

"Thanks, I guess these count as a birthday gift!" She yelled to the detective who had gone to her room. She opened the box, ready to see what kind of treat Naoto gave her. Only for her to find that the doughnuts were already eaten. "NAOTO!"

"It felt rather nice getting payback. I just hope she won't be too mad." Naoto chuckled as she grabbed the true present for her girlfriend from her room. "As wrong as the stereotype is, the station seemed to enjoy the doughnuts."

-Fanfiction hates breaks-

_**Ring**_

Naoto moved back downstairs where she found Rise clinging to the arm of the sofa and sat down next to her.

"You jerk," Rise pouted and prodded her girlfriend's side. Naoto flinched.

"Sorry, those puns were too much for me."

"Ah, so it was you! You did that to Yosuke? Wow…" Naoto coughed.

"Anyway, I do have a gift for you," Naoto pulled out a small box. "Close your eyes and hold out your hand." Rise giggled, closed her eyes, and nearly smacked Naoto in the chest when she stuck her hand out.

She felt Naoto fiddle with something and put something cold in her hand. When Rise opened her eyes again, a sliver ring was shining in the middle of her palm.

It was simple but the color and quality made it look stunning. It seemed to be very well cared for and when Rise rubbed her fingers along it, the ring was incredibly smooth.

"Naoto… This is beautiful… I…" Rise was speechless. Naoto rubbed the back of her neck and turned away to conceal a blush.

"It was my mother's…" Rise's jaw dropped. "I want you to have it." Naoto turned back and smiled at her.

"Thank you, Naoto," Rise cried tears of joy and embraced the young detective.

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><p><strong>Please Review down below (it really does help) and May Fortune Smile Upon You!- CrookedMouse<strong>


	4. Poison Fog and Wool

**A.N- Thank you for reviewing Ted-chan and Miwokgirl101! Thank you all who followed and Favorited! I hope you all enjoy! Also, my auto-correct hates Japanese terms and names.  
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**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4 nor do I own these wonderful characters.**

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><p><em><strong>Poison<strong>_

"Naoto! What happened?!" Kanji yelled at the sight of the detective prodigy who was curled up on the floor of the roof. She seemed to be shaking and sweating. Kanji took off his coat and tried to help her sit up. He noticed Rise covering her face with her hands; she was shaking as well. "The hell happened here?!" Rise started to lift up her head and used one of her hands to gesture to a box sitting next to her. Rise's face was bright red and she had to brush away tears in her eyes. Kanji helped Naoto actually sit up and looked into the small, colorful box. It appeared to be filled with… "Chocolate?"

"I'm so sorry Naoto!" Rise sobbed and tackled the shivering, coughing girl. "I thought sempais' advice might help!" Kanji began to put things together.

"Wait… which sempai?" Rise looked back up to Kanji, her eyes watering.

"Chie and Yukiko. We all worked together to make Valentine's Day gifts."

Oh no…

-break again-

_**Fog**_

The fog was covering most of the town, making it incredibly hard for the residents to see. The only ones who were able to look past the fog needed glasses made from a shadow. Himiko needed none such device.

Throughout the fog she could see where the humans were, as well as their thoughts. Except for the team of adolescents, the humans' thoughts constantly invaded her radar. Rumors felt as if they were needles pricking at her being, the feelings of fear and paranoia spreading through her sight and in the humans' brains.

It was due to this that she didn't detect the presence of another.

"There is a phrase in this world: If you keep looking like that, your face will stick that way." The voice felt closer to her than all the thoughts, startling Himiko. The presence was friendly and quite smaller than all the others that often intruded her space, allowing the identification of it to be quick.

"I've heard of it, but we don't really have faces, now do we, Sukuna-Hikona?" Personas were masks of those they represented, but a human's persona would change overtime to reflect that human. Sukuna's giggle fluttered through the radar.

"Yeah, but you could get stuck being moody, so my point stands." Himiko felt him smile proudly at that.

"I don't think it's that simple." As much as she appreciated his company (her shadow form made clear of that), Sukuna's constant change of character made talking with him civilly rather difficult. One moment, his presence is fluttering about and the next, he is harshly buzzing around. It was rather interesting when their two summoners started to meet each other and share so much time together.

"Of course it isn't, but it doesn't require you to follow such things!" Sukuna-Hikona buzzed, his voice deeper. "What is causing such a mood? Do you require something fixed?" The fluttering was back.

"This fog is now constantly affecting my sight. It wouldn't be such a problem if the humans in this fog weren't panicking."

"Well of course they are, humans are flawed like that," Sukuna pointed out. They happily spent the time they were together wondering about the humans' foolishness and the state in which their summoners' goal was at. After a long while, the two felt a pull in opposite directions.

"I shall tell you about it later," Himiko pouted due to her important statement getting cut off. Sukuna-Hikona sniffed.

"Do not worry, it is most likely we shall see each other soon," he gestured to their summoners. Sukuna's presence then gave off a warm, friendly feeling again. "I'll pay attention to what you say, I will not look away." His voice, for once, was neither fluttering nor buzzing; it seemed to be echoing sound of a greater power. They bid each other farewell.

Himiko always would look forward to the times where the noise of the fog was shattered by his presence and the buzzing and fluttering was replaced by the sounds of a clock.

-braek-

_**Wool**_

"Hey, Shirogane!" Dojima called out to Naoto, spotting her walking towards the crime scene. It was winter, and snow had started to fall around the town. Luckily, it was just a minor case, but the rest of the station was busy with the holidays, prompting everyone to help out in any case. Naoto, although at first bothered by such minor requests, was willing to help.

"Detective Dojima," Naoto nodded towards the man.

The two quickly solved the case and decided walk back to the police station together to work on the report. While crossing Marukyu Tofu, Rise appeared in the window and ran outside.

"Naoto!" Rise shouted at the young detective, making her turn around. Rise ran up to her and held out something made of cloth. "I know you'll probably be busy working, so I made you something to keep you warm!" She unfolded it, revealing it to be a light blue scarf with a small white emblem on the end resembling Yamato-Takeru. Naoto gave a small smile.

"Thank you," she gently took it from Rise's hands and wrapped it around her neck. "I like it. It's well made." Naoto flashed a knowing look at the idol, making her laugh.

"Yeah, so I may have asked Kanji for some help, but at least you like it!" Rise giggled and kissed Naoto, the detective face being covered with a blush. "You're busy so I'll talk to later!" Rise waved to Dojima before going back inside. Naoto's face tried to become serious again and she talked about the report that needed to be done. She stopped however, when Dojima started to laugh.

"Geeze, Shirogane. Why don't you take some time off? I know how important work is, but I also know how important girlfriends are too!" This statement caused Naoto to hide her bright red face in the scarf, making Dojima laugh even harder.

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><p><strong>May Fortune Smile Upon You All! -CrookedMouse<strong>


	5. Worry and Lost

**Warning: This chapter contains character deaths. Both word segments are used for the December bad ending(where you fail to reach Adachi) and the bad ending in the hospital. **

**A.N.-You have been warned. I have been having some really angst-y thoughts as college has been suffocating and my little brother can become paralyzed for the rest of his life, be killed, and/or never be able to play sports (something he loves) due to scoliosis. I will try to write more fluff and happy thoughts, but I decided to at least put these together and post them.  
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**I hope fortune smiles upon you all. -CrookedMouse.**

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><p><em><strong>Worry<strong>_

The shadows were taking the city.

Rise ducked in between the two stores and hid from the monstrous piles of shadows rushing past and towards the smell of blood. Rise's head pounded from Kanzeon supporting her thoughts, claiming that the shadows were headed towards Junes.

What Rise wanted for Kanzeon to say was that her friends were holding out against the storm of black monsters. But she knew that Kanzeon would be lying.

She was currently trying to get to the Dojima residence where Yu was supposed to be. She really didn't have much time to think about what was happening. Kanzeon was constantly echoing alerts about shadows everywhere. Rise hoped the others were alright.

When Rise was nearing the house, Kanzeon silenced for a minute.

"Is it clear?" _…_ "Hey, are you still there?" _Yes. Something… It should be clear now…_

After dodging the group, Rise had to stay in a small alley to wait for more shadows to pass. Something grabbed her shoulder, causing Rise to immediately smack whatever the hand belonged to. She regretted it as Naoto held her now hurt cheek. Her clothes were covered in blood.

"I apologize. I didn't want to alarm the shadows," Naoto whispered. "I tried to get your attention, but you seemed lost in thought…" Rise grabbed her hand and pulled the Detective Prince farther into the alley. Once they were away from the mob, Rise pulled Naoto into a hug, but she quickly had to move her hands away from the large claw marks on Naoto's back. Naoto didn't even flinch.

"You jerk," Rise's sobs were muffled in Naoto's torn shirt. "I was so worried!"

Naoto wrapped her arms around the idol carefully. Rise sighed happily; she had finally found someone alive.

"Your fears are unwarranted." _Stop! _"I am fine." _Run! _"You don't have to worry anymore." _Yamato-Takeru is gone! That is not him! Please listen!_

Kanzeon's voice was fading away as Rise's hearing only focused on Naoto's steady breathing. Naoto's yellow eyes burned through the darkness that was engulfing Rise.

_"I won't let you leave me."_

_**Lost**_

It was already dark by the time they had left the hospital. The looming silence was only fractured by the snow crunching underneath their feet. The two had their winter clothes on to combat the cold that would come during winter's night. Unfortunately, this did not protect them from the ice that was hanging in their minds and hearts.

Rise's home was quickly reached and Rise began to shake off any excess snow that got on her. Naoto stood there, looking at the ground.

"Do you want to come in?" Rise did not turn around.

"No." Naoto quietly walked on.

This would last a long while. They could not even look at each other. To do that were to remember what happened. To recall the glares and heated arguments. To hear again what Naoto proclaimed as 'justice' and to hear Rise cry out 'stop'. To hear the pleas and begs of a man who they both knew could be innocent. To hear the sound of a heartbeat that belonged to a young and hopeful child stop. Rise could not. Neither could Naoto.

Instead, they refused to look, to hear, and to acknowledge what they have done.

Nanako was dead.

They indirectly killed a man.

Their hope, for the future, for humanity, for love, was now buried in that memory.

Lost forever until someone hits the reset button on their lives and forces them through that again.


	6. Fear, Cowboy, and Pants

**A.N.- Fanfiction dislikes my writings... Twice I've tried to upload this, but everytime I did it glitched the words... Hopefully this is good though...**

**As for the word 'cowboy', let's just say, the reasoning behind it involves Naoto's Japanese voice actor!**

**Thanks for the follows and favorites! I Hope Fortune Smiles Upon You All!- CrookedMouse**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 4.**

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><p><em><strong>Fear<strong>_

Fear was one of the many things Naoto despised. Outside of the TV, Naoto knew to never show fear, on her face or with her body language. She would never admit to the fear of being alone, forgotten, or being useless. It would give whatever she was facing an advantage.

The same could be said when inside the TV as well.

The foe would become massive, towering over her and showing no sign of damage. None of her skills would work on it. One by one her comrades and friends would fall and scream (_Why, why, why couldn't you save us?! We trusted you!_). All Naoto could do was shiver as she would become alone again, not able to help anyone. She would just be a small girl facing something she could not even comprehend. Echoes of taunts would imprint in Naoto's mind and would slowly become her truth. Taunts from all those children that abandoned her, the teens that beat her up for being different, and those adults that disbelieved her success were now being repeated by the people whom pulled her out of her shell. The feeling would surround her and make her just want to curl up and cover her ears, letting nothing and no one reach her.

It would be suffocating.

Then her sempai would use an item, bizarre medicine of some kind, and try to pull Naoto to her feet as the voices faded and the true battle scene would form back.

"It's okay Naoto, you just got hit by a fear spell," Yukiko assured. "We all got hit by it at least once, we understand." Naoto was able to breathe again and stood as the shadow was defeated. Yu looked over to her.

"It's alright if you want to stop for now."

"I-I'm fine, we can keep going." While she was still shaking, she really did not want to hold back the team. (_We depended on you and you failed! How could you?! You're nothing but a weak child!)_

Yu paused but nodded. Chie gave her a water bottle and patted her shoulder.

After they were done clearing dungeons, Rise pulled Naoto into a tight hug.

Naoto eased her hands around Rise and they held that position for a while.

When they walked back to Rise's house, Rise grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

Naoto shook as she held Rise so tightly, as if she would disappear before her. Rise cried because she saw Naoto's raw fear.

_**Cowboy**_

Rise looked so proud.

Naoto had opened her gift from her and proceeded to stare at it.

The silence from either of them made the rest of the Investigation team look at the gift Rise got her.

It was a white cowboy hat.

They then had to question Rise as to why she would give Naoto the thing. Rise brushed off all of their attempts to understand her reasoning. While busy laughing at Teddie and Yosuke's antics, she was caught by surprise when her girlfriend wrapped her arms around Rise and gave her a kiss. Once Naoto pulled away, Rise was able to see a certain shine in her eyes.

"Thank You." They both stood there amongst their friends looking into each other's eyes with great understanding. It wasn't until the rest of the gang reacted to them that Naoto blushed and remembered where exactly they were. Rise laughed as Naoto tried to dodge all the teasing from Yosuke and Teddie.

Rise laughed even harder when Yosuke pointed out how quickly Naoto replaced her normal hat with her gift.

_**Pants**_

If Naoto wanted to wear suits and ties, Rise was completely fine with it. Naoto couldn't necessarily say the same but…

"She could make anything thing look fantastic," Naoto stated while blushing and hiding her face with her hat. Rise just smiled and kissed her cheek.

While they were both different in their own ways, their love was still strong.


	7. King, Law, and Gears

**A.N.- Sorry about the wait guys! Finals are coming up so I'll probably be a little late with uploads. Other than that, thank you for your review StormOfTheNorth (and ted-chan for your support, sorry I forgot to address that!)  
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**"Gears" is an AU: Robot!Naoto. "King" is before Naoto's shadow.  
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**I hope fortune smiles upon you all!- CrookedMouse**

**I do not own Persona 4 or its characters!**

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><p><em><strong>King<strong>_

'These people are imbeciles,' Naoto thought as he, along with the other normally acting people in the group, had to help the others get back to the hotel. Despite the drinks being non-alcoholic, most of them could not walk in a straight line. It did not seem as bad when they handed the sleeping idol to him as they had to chase the other who ran off. It was rather hard to walk quickly while supporting her, so it gave him some time to think about the case and where this group stands in it. Of course that was ruined when Rise woke up.

"C'mon! There's no other players around, ssoooooo you're the king!" Her speech was still slurred but seemed like it was getting better.

"I refuse." Rise pouted and clung onto the smaller teen.

"Naaoooottooooo, you must want something!"

"I would prefer it if you make it easier- WAIT WHERE ARE YOU TOUCHING?!"

The next day, Rise would try to approach Naoto about what happened only to have the detective to avoid the question and eye-contact.

_**Law**_

"You love me, don't you?"

"Yes, but I'm not going to help you once you get arrested for breaking into a restaurant to get their recipe for vichyssoise," Naoto sighed.

"Aww…"

_**Gears**_

Something was wrong. Naoto was sure of that. She had experimented with her mechanisms enough to know what exactly did what and Naoto was sure that whatever was causing this problem, it had to do with recent events.

Ever since that foolish shadow dared to reveal her secret, she had been asked several ignorant questions by the group that saved her.

To be honest, she really didn't mind some of them. They did not know that robots were, in fact, real and could fit into society fairly well (many of the Investigation Team tried to point something out to her; she just did not care to listen).

After the barrage of questions were over, they treated her friendly and begun to hang out with her more frequently.

More often than not, Rise Kujikawa was the one to confront Naoto with anything social. If the team wanted to study together, Rise was the one who would normally approach her, so it did not bother Naoto in the slightest when she started to ask if she could spend some time with her. It did not bother her when Rise would grab her hand and pull her towards the next shop. It did not bother her when Rise would rush in after school and ask if they could walk together.

But this feeling… That's what bothered her.

Rise had huddled next to Naoto, claiming that it was too cold not to share body heat. This not only was confusing (Rise was wearing a heavy coat, scarf, and earmuffs how was she still cold?) but it had made that feeling pulse in Naoto's chest again.

It felt as if some of her gears were stuck on something. They were skipping a beat of time and causing Naoto's throat to go dry and her face to overheat.

What was even weirder was that she sort of liked this feeling.


	8. Happy Holidays!

**A.N.- Merry Christmas! I haven't updated in a while due to a certain upcoming chapter getting longer and longer. **

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoy and I do not own the characters! Thanks for the follows and favorites!  
><strong>

**P.S.- The new story pic is a birthday gift I received from my wonderful friend, EnigmaFire17! It's a small bead chain of my favorite colors with the Lover's and Fortune's tarot cards on the end! I adore it.**

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><p><em><strong>Snow<strong>_

*Biff!*

The impact of a snowball hitting her window startled Naoto out of her novel. She walked from the desk and peaked outside to see a splash of pink and red standing in the snow, waving.

"Crazy…" Naoto chuckled before grabbing her hat and walking downstairs.

Yakushiji already noticed Naoto's girlfriend and led her to the fire. Rise's face was bright red underneath a scarf and heavy coat. When Naoto arrived downstairs, she urged the detective to put on her own.

"The snowfall was amazing last night! It's just right for everything!"

"Everything?"

"Snowmen, snowball fights, snow angels, you know, the usual!" That would explain why Rise was here. While the snow outside was fine for games, it could be quite a pain to go through. "So come on, let's go!" The idol had stood up and was now pushing Naoto towards the front door.

"Rise, I have no intentions of-!" When she tried to argue her point on staying in, Rise pouted and started to use her patented 'crocodile tears'. Naoto sighed, "… Very well, but give me a minute to be ready."

"Yes!" Rise shouted before hugging the detective. After a brief moment she let her breath and skipped to the door. "Don't keep me waiting!"

Naoto went to the closet to put out her boots.

"Somehow, I need to find a way around that…" She pulled on her coat and wrapped her white scarf around her neck. "But, I suppose I could let her revel in it for now."

After all, it has been a long while since she made a snowman.

_**Santa**_

The Dojima house was busy with setting up decorations for the holidays. The whole thing was actually more of a hassle as Yu's friends decided to help. Yosuke and Chie were trying to put up the tree but were arguing way too much; Yukiko, Rise, and Kanji were making some decorations with help from Nanako and "help" from Teddie; Yu was preparing all the food for it; Naoto was busy fixing most of the lights; and Dojima was sitting there drinking coffee, but would also spend time with Nanako.

"Dad, look at this!" A knitted snowflake was shaking slightly at Nanako's movement. Dojima smiled.

"Wow, that's really well done!"

"Kanji's really good at this!" The compliment made Kanji blush and he focused on his knitting again.

"Hey Nanako, what do you wish from Santa this year?" Yukiko asked.

"I wanted Dad and Big Bro to be home all day! Dad says Santa can also give me the Detective Loveline DVD!"

"Hey, don't you have the entire-" The idol turned to Naoto before the Detective Prince covered Rise's mouth with her hand.

"Hush, I know of no such thing." The look of embarrassment on her face seemed to disagree.

Nanako and Yukiko giggled at the two's antics while Kanji piled up the ornaments they made and handed them to Chie and Yosuke.

"Here you go sempai." The two stopped arguing for a bit to start putting them up. Now, with nothing to do, Yukiko, Kanji, and Nanako went to help with the tree. Rise still sat there, watching Naoto work. The young detective did not mind, until Rise decided to tease her again.

"If you're good, Santa will get you more than Loveline~"

Dojima's laugh was heard throughout the house as Naoto gave Rise a very startled look.

**_Mistletoe_**

"Wow, mistletoe!" Rise pointed to the plant hung in the doorway. Her face lit up with a grin.

"…" Naoto's face remained blank and unchanged. Due to her stare, the other two watching began to feel awkward.

"Geeze, I knew this wasn't a good idea," Yosuke whispered to Chie.

Rise was helping Naoto with the lights outside, so those two inside decided to put up the mistletoe just as a joking gift to the couple. The warnings from Yu and Kanji (who knew Naoto was not used to relationships) did not deter them (Yosuke) from doing it.

Naoto's face remained blank while Rise turned to the two sempai who were focusing on their efforts.

"Thanks for the thought guys, but did you really have to do something so cliché?" Chie grabbed Yosuke and flung him back into the living room. Rise laughed as she heard the two being scolded by the others.

She was genuinely surprised when she felt a kiss on her cheek.

"I may not be the best at expressing my feelings in public, but I still care." Rise turned around to catch the sight of Naoto blushing while pulling her hat down to cover her face. Rise smiled.

"Thank you." She gave the girl a kiss that made her blush even more.

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><p><strong>Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!- CrookedMouse<strong>


	9. Fireworks, Storm, and Late

**A.N.- Hey guys! I got Persona Q for Christmas, so it took a while to pry myself away from the 3DS... But no matter! I'm still working on that big chapter, so don't worry!**

**"Fireworks" contains references to the Persona 4 Anime.**

**Anyways, I Hope Fortune Smiles Upon You All!-CrookedMouse**

**I do not own Persona.**

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><p><strong><em>Fireworks<em>**

Naoto looked toward the sky as the crowds of people shouted "Tamaya". Even though he was taken off the case, the group of kidnapping victims kept him in place. Naoto knew that they had some connection to the case, one that the police could not see. However, investigating the group seemed to lead to very little and confronting them led to…

Naoto sighed as he thought of what the last encounter wielded. The words that the idol threw had him emotionally unstable, which was why he left them soon after.

'A game…' Such words had Naoto feel a flash of pain in his chest.

When he left the unpopulated shrine he spotted the group again. Naoto was prepared to confront them but stopped himself when he saw a small girl dressed up as Detective Loveline. When he met the poor girl, she had been crying about how she could not find out what was wrong with her older brother. Naoto saw a bit of himself in her making it all the more important that he tried to stop her from crying. Luckily, his social inexperience did not make things worse.

'… Perhaps…' Naoto smiled. 'She seems happier… I'll leave them alone for now…'

What Naoto didn't know was that he was in the thoughts of a certain idol who was feeling regret over the words she had said before.

**_Storm_**

Naoto walked out of the classroom, only to be immediately grabbed by her friend.

"Hey!" Naoto's voice went higher than it usually did, strangely, Rise did not react. She started to be concerned, but it was rather hard to see Rise's face from her angle.

Naoto started to realize that she was being lead to the roof. This added to Rise's strange behavior as it was currently raining.

Due to the weather, it was no surprise that the roof was empty of people.

Rise, with nothing to make cover herself from the rain, just stood there silently being soaked by it. Naoto was often nervous around the idol, as one line could lead to teasing. This behavior made Naoto wish she wasn't so awkward with social instances.

"Rise-san? What's wrong?" The idol stood there, looking up at the sky for a moment.

"… Naoto-kun… Have you ever betrayed a friend?"

"… No…" She never really had friends… "What makes you feel you have?" Going by her intuition, Naoto knew that this is where it would be going.

"… A crush…" Really… Naoto wished something as silly as that wouldn't have been the case. "A friend of mine… likes him… I really do want to support them but…" The pause only has the noise of the falling rain. "Why can't things ever be so simple?" Naoto, for all of her brilliance, was in the dark for this one. She never experienced such feelings as she never had any "normal" interactions with people. The question Rise asked was one that had plagued her own path, but… Didn't Rise say something about that to her once?

"…Perhaps that's what makes them so special." Rise turned to Naoto; her red eyes reveal that it was not only rain falling. But the smile she sent made Naoto feel a bit better on this.

"Hey. No fair, using my words against me." Rise giggled a bit as Naoto made her way to her. The idol was surprised as a hat made way to her head.

"I'm not the best at such things, so I left it to the professionals. I do know that we will catch a cold if we stay in the rain any longer, let's get dry." Naoto reached her hand out to Rise, not even flinching as the rain soaked her hat-barren head. Rise smiled and took Naoto's hand.

"I suppose I should be flattered to be called a professional!" The warmth of each others hands helped when they noticed that the school was much colder than outside.

"Er…" Naoto's curiosity reached to a point. "If I may ask, is this crush really worth getting you so worked up?" This made Rise laugh.

"To be honest, they are really blunt!" Rise couldn't help but tease.

"Oh really?" Naoto really wanted more information. If she could figure out whom Rise's crush was, she could punish him for making Rise feel such a storm of emotions.

"Yes, and apparently very oblivious."

**_Late_**

Naoto stretched her arms, happily leaving her seat. The day was nothing more than teachers exclaiming what she already knew (with her correcting them occasionally) and students bothering her with various unnecessary dribble.

Packing away her homework, she was almost surrounded by students again. Naoto ignored them and walked out of the room. At this time, she was quite used to Rise meeting her outside the room (inside when Naoto wasn't) and pulling the detective into "hanging out" but was surprised when as soon as she stepped outside the energetic idol was not to be seen.

Naoto sighed and moved out of the way of the door to let people through. Rise was kind enough to go to such lengths to be friends with her, so it would at least be gentlemanly to wait for her.

After a while, Naoto felt herself grow wary. 'Maybe Rise-san forgot?' Whatever the reason, Naoto now felt her mood worsen. 'Or, she might have tired of this.' She would not be surprised, it has happened before.

Sighing, she decided that it would be much better if she went home. She had some files to look at anyway.

"Naoto-kun!" The idol ran up to the stopped Naoto. "Sorry for the wait, I had something to do for the class!"

"It was not a problem…"

"Objection!" Rise pointed towards Naoto accusingly. "You were leaving! Therefor I did take too long and it bothered you! As an apology, let's go to Aiya's!" Rise then hooked her arm with Naoto's, making the girl blush.

"W-wait!" She had little time to argue as the idol had successfully pulled her away.

Soon after it was revealed that it really was a date and Rise took so long trying to get the courage to ask Naoto out. Although it took a while for the detective to speak a full sentence, she did say yes.


	10. Summer, Tired, and Call

**A.N.- Hey, sorry I'm a late. Chapter's may take a while to make as I have been working on other ideas for stories and college has started back up.  
><strong>

**Anyways, please enjoy! "Tired" and "Call" are both in a Gang!au. I was working on the word "Gang" when I realized that it would work better as another word...twice... It happens a lot.**

**I do not own Persona. Atlus is doing fine.**

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><p><em><strong>Summer<strong>_

"Why does it have to be so cold?!" Rise shivered while Naoto handed her the hot drink.

The two were sitting on the hill like they usually did, but the cold winds made it obvious to them that winter had come. At the sight of snow, the two decided that it was better to head inside and have some hot chocolate or coffee.

"Do you want the scientific answer or the sarcastic one?" Rise smiled into her cup and lightly jabbed Naoto's side.

"Oh shut up." Naoto chuckled. "I just can't wait for summ…er…" Rise's voice trailed off and they both gained an awkward silence.

Once summer came, they probably wouldn't see each other. Naoto needed to travel to various cases and Rise was going back to her idol business. They would definitely use their cellphones and computers but it was not the same as leaning against each other, knowing that they were truly there.

They grasped each other's hand and smiled.

Summer was a long time away, so for now they could survive off the other's warmth.

_**Tired**_

Naoto stood and stretched her legs. The Banchou's orders were complete and she could finally go home. Fixing all of the damages from their last fight took a long while and she had work in the morning.

After changing out of her mechanic clothes, she grabbed her keys from her desk and spotted a peculiar sight.

Rise was sprawled out on the old couch Kanji put in. Normally, she would check all of the cameras and head home before it got dark out, why was she still here?

Naoto walked over and examined the idol. She was sleeping but the way she was laying with only half of her body on the couch and the other on the floor looked rather uncomfortable. The couch was really big enough for two people and Rise was shivering. Naoto decided that those things needed to be remedied and went over to get the emergency blanket.

Apparently, by the word of Kanji, the gang never packed emergency supplies until he brought it up. Naoto was rather thankful for that as many a time went by that they needed a fire extinguisher or a first-aid kit.

After pulling the blanket back to the couch, she rested it on the back and started to carefully move Rise back to a more comfortable position. Naoto grabbed the blanket and covered the sleeping idol with it, making her shift to be warmer.

Naoto sighed and patted the idol's head. It was rather clear that Yu was getting more paranoid about their rival gang but having Rise monitor the cameras until she was tired enough to fall asleep right there was asking a bit much.

While she was busy thinking, Rise had woken.

"…Naoto?" The mumble made the detective jump out of her thoughts. "What time is it?" Rise tried to sit up, still not fully awake.

"Late," Naoto replied, "It's safer if you stay here for the night." Rise looked blankly at her before shifting over on the couch.

"Okay, then we can share this." Rise looked over to the space she left on the couch and decided that that was enough before plopping back down.

"What?" Naoto was sure Rise was too tired to think.

"It's too dangerous for me to go home, so it's the same with you." Naoto stood there silently, wondering if she could object to this. "'Sides, I feel safer when you're around."

The statement left the detective with a blush as Rise drifted back to sleep.

She had work in the morning… but this place was closer to the police station, Naoto decided and climbed on the couch.

**_Call_**

_"I have obtained what you wanted, Narukami."_ Yu was sure his smile could be seen over the phone.

"Good. Have you found out anything else?" There was a rustling sound of Naoto flipping towards a particular paper.

_"I'll tell you the full account later."_ Naoto was the best at code; even if she used words that would seem suspicious on anyone else, it would seem like her normal tone of voice.

"So there has been activity?"

_"Of course; I am on my way."_ Right before he could close his cell-phone, Rise walked by and yelled loud enough that Naoto could hear.

"Love you!" Yu could tell that Naoto was blushing furiously. Yu angled his phone so she could give a response.

_"Love you too, Rise."_ With a click, they both hung up and Yu turned to the humming girl.

"Did you really have to do that? She'll be over here in a couple minutes."

"Sorry Banchou," she laughed and turned back to her monitors. Yu simply sighed and rolled his eyes.

He knew that she would do it again, but he honestly did not want to discourage the two. He noticed that ever since they got together, the twos' moods were greatly brighter. He was happy for them.

He just wished that Rise would stop interrupting his business calls.

* * *

><p><strong>P.S.- I never thanked you all for following or favoriting (after a while it becomes hard to track) so...<strong>

** Thank you KnightSpark, XanfiretheShinigami, Unicorns-after-Rainbows, Accel-kun, Train wreck1901, MostRefinedPenguin, RyMTY, UnderwaterGasketWeaving, WolfinEndlessDarkness, bri333865, maditomoe, and Kanjilearner1988!  
><strong>

**If I missed anyone, listed twice, or if I misspelled, message** **me! **

**Otherwise; I hope you all keep enjoying!****May Fortune Smile Upon You All!**

**-CrookedMouse**


	11. Lighthouse

**Warning: This contains spoilers for Persona 3 and To The Moon. Also headcanons.**

**A.N.- Well... Here's the biggest chapter. I have been working on this for what feels like more than a month. I have been constantly writing this on my off time and finished it yesterday at 11:30pm. It took a long time.**

**Anyways, because of this it is its own chapter and I'll try to get the next chapter out by the end of the week (I haven't even looked at them yet).**

**This chapter's word "lighthouse" made me think of the game "To The Moon". I sort-of took one of the plot points, so think of it as an au.**

**StormOfTheNorth- ****Thank you **** for the review! I got the idea (as to have the Investigation team be a biker gang) from reading a persona 4 story over on Archive of Our Own, I believe it was "Thug Life" by Souyoosk. I was thinking that Naoto would be the mole and the mechanic while Rise would monitor the town for the rival gang (akin to her persona).  
><strong>

**So without further ado, please enjoy, leave a review, and May Fortune Smile Upon You! -CrookedMouse**

**I do not own Persona 3 or 4 nor do I own To The Moon. Atlus and Freebird Games made the excellent games, support them.**

**P.S.- There are so many timeskips so I will use the line-breaks instead of my usual ones.**

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><p><em><strong>Lighthouse<strong>_

The crickets' chirping and rustling wind muted out the sounds of the busy Inaba festival. A girl stared in awe at the bright lights in the sky. She wondered why her parents told her to be careful here; the secluded spot on the hill lead to a beautiful view of the stars and she spotted no trouble. A knocked over log was perfect for a bench.

She sat on the log and put down her bag. She stared into the sky for a long time and thought about many things. How her parents were always busy, how weird her brother was, and how most of the other kids treated her... She didn't think that those thoughts were helping much, so she decided to focus on the stars.

However, the sound of someone climbing up the hill made her jump out of her attempts to find constellations.

Another girl was walking towards where the log was only to spot the other girl sitting there.

"Oh! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to hog this place!"

"Did you come here to look at the stars?"

"Did you?" The standing girl went silent. The girl moved over a bit on the log, trying to make some room. "Would you like to join me?"

The girl nodded and sat down on the log. Her gaze moved to the night sky.

The first girl tried to find something to talk about; at least to try and seem not as awkward as she usually was.

"H-have you ever seen so many lights all at once?"

"Yes," came the soft reply.

"O-oh," the first girl searched a bit for something to say. "In the big city, I never got to see this many lights." The second girl turned her head towards her. "I-I really do like it though. I hope I can see this all the time." The second girl looked back to the sky.

"…" "…"

"What's your name?" The second girl's question startled the first.

"…Er… I don't really want to tell you…"

"Why not?"

"Everyone says it's a boy's name."

"… What's wrong with that? It makes it unique."

"But it's not what I am… I mean, everyone says I act like a guy but I am not one and then they say I can't be a guy! I want to be like my mom and dad but, why can't I just be me too?"

"… You're lucky."

"Huh?"

"You know who you are and what you want to be, I wish I knew… For me, it's like the lights in the sky. There are so many of them, so many paths to choose, but all of them, even when they're together, are all pretty."

"O-oh…"

"What do you think the stars are?"

"Huh? Well… My grandfather says they're giant balls of burning gasses. Though, I'm not sure if he's right."

"Why wouldn't he be?"

"Because he once tried to tell me about a rabbit who leaves eggs, but that's impossible."

"… Have you even seen an animal in the stars?"

"A constellation? Well, there are plenty of animal ones… I don't know if I could find them tonight…"

"How about making one? Would you like to try?"

"… Sure, but which animal?"

"How about… a bear."

"A bear? Alright." The two sat there for a while, looking at the stars and trying to find a bear.

"I see one!" The second girl announced.

"Where?" The second girl pointed up to the night sky.

"There's his head, those are his feet, and that's his belly," the second girl finished by pointing at the moon.

"H-hey! I see it too! His… his belly is quite big…" The second girl giggled at this. They sat in silence before the first girl spoke up, "You never told me what you think they are… the stars, I mean."

"Huh? Oh… Well, I always thought that they were lighthouses… Billions of lighthouses stuck at the far end of the sky… They want to talk to all the other lighthouses, but all they can do is flash their lights as they're too far apart to hear each other. One day… I would like to hear what they say…" The second girl got a far-off look on her face while the other girl stared at her in awe.

"Wow…" All she could do was mumble out that. The second girl looked back at her before noticing the bag resting against the log.

"What's in the bag?"

"That? It's a prize I won from the shooter stall."

"What'd you win?"

"I got a… thing." The girl pulled out a plush, it was white and had a blue collar, hat, and shoes. It had a huge smile that showed two fangs.

"I think that's a Jack Frost doll! May I see it?" The girl nodded and handed it to her. "It's really cute; I wish I could win one."

"Where are you sis?!" A voice called from the bottom of the hill. The first girl jumped.

"Oh! That's my brother!" The first girl jumped off the log.

"Here," the other girl tried to hand over the doll.

"Huh? Oh, it's fine, you can keep it."

"SIS! Come on, we need to get up early tomorrow!" The girl jumped and turned back to the other girl.

"I got to go," she started to head back down the hill.

"Wait! Will you be here next year?" The stopped walking and turned around.

"Yes! You want to meet back here?" The other girl nodded. "Alright, it's a promise. I'll see you later!" The girl waved to her.

The girl hugged the Jack Frost doll tighter as she saw her retreat back towards the town.

"Yeah… A promise."

* * *

><p>The white walls of the hospital held no comfort to the elder man waiting for the results of the wreck.<p>

He felt his eyes water as he thought about the past. His son's family seemed so happy the last time they visited, but now… He forced down his tears as one of the doctors approached him.

"We're so sorry sir. Your son and his wife… we could not revive them." He started to sink further into the uncomfortable chair before hearing the other words, "Minato and Naoto are still unconscious." The old man's back protested when he stood up suddenly but he did not care.

"Please, may I see them?" The doctor seemed to think about it but saw his expression and quickly led him to the right rooms.

The sight of the two being covered in wires tugged even more at his broken heart. He wanted to hold them and make sure that they were still there, but he knew that would most likely cause more pain for their bruised and beaten bodies.

While he was visiting Naoto (he tried to spend a good amount of time with his grandson, but the doctors needed to check on something, forcing him out) the doctor from before had to approach him.

"Sir, we checked and…" His words trailed of as he tried to say this in the best way possible, "Your granddaughter, she has a problem recalling what happened."

"What?" His voice carried his anguish and sadness as life toke more from him.

"It's nothing life threatening but, she may have some memory problems…"

"Memory problems?"

"She… may have repressed the memories concerning her parents; seeing what was left of them in the crash must have been too much."

"How much?"

"We're not sure, we can't tell until we can properly examine her psychologically." There was silence as the doctor looked onto the man who just had his world diminished. "If… there's anything else we can do-"

"Just… keep them alive…please." Such sorrow-filled words seemed to echo throughout the room, but there was only a response given by the machines hooked up to his granddaughter.

* * *

><p>The door to my room squeaks. During the otherwise quiet night, it drew my attention away from sleep. Normally Grandfather would leave me to my thoughts so who could be coming in?<p>

"…Mina…" Ah, that's who. Looking towards the doorway revealed my younger sister standing there.

Seeing her here made something in my chest stir. She took their parents' death harder than I had, to the point where she forced herself to forget a lot of what she knew about them to ease her pain. When the doctor's noticed it, it was too late and certain medicines they were using caused her condition to worsen.

"Naoto shouldn't you be rest-" As she stepped into the moonlight, I could see her better. Her expression seemed panicked. I'd seen this before…

She was getting very strong. She would try to help grandfather with cases and me with my homework. She could climb the biggest trees and make any toy into something greater. But when she would remember…

I moved over on the bed and held my arms out, if it was the same as before, most words would be meaningless. She ran over to my bed and practically jumped into my arms.

"B-brother, I saw them again…" Again… it seems that this side of her remembers. "It's so loud Mina… I d-don't… I… C-can't… Brother…"

"I am here…" I am. Not them. I am the final thing she has from that night. "I'm with you, sister."

"I-it hurts…"

"…I know…"

The two siblings hold each other, having the other be their life-line. This act reassures that they are indeed not alone.

She will not remember this interaction until she is much older, when her life-line was no longer there.

* * *

><p>The family's loyal butler came back down the stairs, looking downtrodden as the residence could feel at a time like this. Yakushiji resisted the need to sigh as he saw the elder Shirogane look toward him for any indication that his granddaughter was better.<p>

"Yakushiji have you had any luck?" The butler wanted to say that he had to cheer him up, even if that were to lie.

"No sir, she showed no signs," it was common to see a sibling grieve for the other's death, but with Naoto's repression of her parents' deaths, anything like this could be the very thing that destroys the girl.

"All we can do is wait… again," the old man sighs as Yakushiji places a hand on his shoulder.

"Naoto-sama has become stronger over the years. This may not be about her condition, but about mourning her brother."

"I do hope you're right..."

* * *

><p>As the class ended, Rise knew she had to try to talk to the "new" transfer. Although the detective seemed to antagonize them for the case, there was something she needed to talk to him about.<p>

"Excuse me, Naoto-kun?" Naoto showed some emotion before his face went to its usual stoic form.

"May I help you, Kujikawa-san?" The idol seemed more nervous to talk than the last time they met.

"Do you have a sister?" Naoto raised an eyebrow at this.

"No, I am an only child."

"Oh, sorry. You looked like someone I once knew," Rise apologized. She could have sworn that…

"Very well; if you need nothing else, I will be on my way." With that, Naoto picked up his bag and left the classroom, leaving Rise standing there.

* * *

><p><em>"Wait! Will you be here next year?" The voice is distant but familiar.<em>

_"Yes! You want to meet back here?" The other person nods. "Alright, it's a promise. I'll see you later!"_

Naoto wakes up abruptly with the statement echoing in his mind. 'A promise…'

He sighs. 'What did I promise and who was I talking to?'

His head pounds with the beginnings of a headache. Looking towards his clock, Naoto decides that it is not too early and proceeds to get ready for the day to come.

* * *

><p>It looks away from the monitors for a moment to look at the detective waking up.<p>

"Finally you're awake!" the voice startles Naoto and he tries to reach for his gun to find that it is gone.

"Who? What? How?" Naoto rambles a bit; his headache combined with the absurdity he is viewing makes it difficult for him to speak.

"Hmph, just like you, too many thoughts and cannot speak." Its tone mocks Naoto's pride.

"Who are you? Where is this place? How did I get here?" He tries to make his voice more commanding but the fog seems to choke him.

"The second question's answer is simple: This is your place. A center for brilliance and loneliness and walls made to prevent others from hurting you." It spins around, excitingly waving its hands towards all the technology. "Brilliant thoughts and ideas; most can harm you." It points to the steel table underneath the various equipment. "Such ideas will help you become who you wish or need to be; just lay down on this table and I will take care of the rest."

His face contorts for a minute, trying to figure this out like a puzzle, only to return to his demanding state.

"Who are you and why do you look like me?!"

"_Look _like you?" It gets angrier, "This is no façade! There is no fake! I am you!"

"What?" The shock on his face makes it chuckle.

"I am you. You are me. I know what you need and want and I will make it happen." It tries to get closer to Naoto only for him to back away.

"I-I do not understand." It laughs.

"Of course you do. Or well, you should." Its voice wavers as it starts becoming childish again.

He knows, at least some of it. The wanting to be needed, not being accepted. So it would make it so that they weren't alone again.

But… the other problem was that they needed to remember.

To remember who comforted them, the ones they lost, the ones they loved.

And… It was sure that they were forgetting something else. Something involving…

This is why they needed to remember; the thought of losing something precious, something that made them feel loved and needed, made it start to cry.

The door opens and the group they were investigating comes through. One of them calls out their name. Naoto shifts his head towards them.

"Ah, it's about time you arrived. Dealing with this child has been quite a pain." He starts to walk over to them.

No, no, no, no! It can't let him leave! It can't be alone again! THEY SHOULDN'T BE ALONE!

It starts to wail, "No! No, no, don't go!"

* * *

><p>It was already dark and the Shirogane mansion was quiet. Naoto had told them that her grandfather was on a case elsewhere, along with their butler. The tone in her voice made it clear that while she was perfectly capable of being alone, she really wished she wasn't. When Yukiko had tried to clear her feelings up, she dodged the question, obviously not comfortable saying it.<p>

She knew eventually she had to.

After helping Naoto to her bed, Yukiko went downstairs to check if the mansion had enough food for the girl.

Girl… Rise's head was still not used to that fact. While she was fine with that, it still made her search a little more difficult. Was Naoto that girl? If so, did she forget?

Rise had so many questions, but her thoughts were cut off when Naoto started to move.

"Please…Mina…no…don't…" The sick girl started to shiver and curled up. Rise stroked her hair, trying to comfort Naoto.

No matter if she was that girl or not, Naoto was still Naoto and Rise would try to become her friend.

* * *

><p>This was weird, Rise decided.<p>

Standing outside of the bathroom, in a bikini, trying to comfort her friend/maybe-crush into wearing another bikini so that they can participate in a contest they didn't sign up for, while the older girls were busy trying not to kill the other competitors.

Typical things for Rise since she joined the Inaba Investigation team.

"Come on Naoto, it's not like we have to go on stage naked."

…She could've sworn Naoto muttered something about it feeling like they were.

Rise sighed, but didn't try to say anything more. No matter what she would say, she knew it wouldn't help Naoto be more comfortable.

It has already been a month since the team had rescued Naoto and Rise still was not sure about her feelings towards her.

She managed to spend some time with the detective (to the point where it did not make Naoto startled when she said that they were friends) and even talked with her about some personal stuff.

She never asked Naoto about "her", just in case she was assuming too much. But just the presence of that thought in her mind made her really sad.

Did she want to get close to Naoto, or was she just doing this to know if she was the girl?

She sighed and wished that her own mind wasn't so complicated. All these years and she still had problems with her own faces.

Rise then realized that Naoto was taking a really long time dressing. She stopped leaning on the door and opened it.

"Hey, do you need any help with-" The sudden sound after her long silence made Naoto nearly loose grip on the window ledge she was grabbing.

Rise blinked as Naoto's face flushed deep red. She was hanging on to the open window whilst lowering herself to a tree branch below. It made it rather difficult to come up with an excuse.

"U-um, I-I was just!" Rise suddenly smiled and waved her hand to cut her off.

"Do you need some help?" Rise swore that if Naoto got any redder, steam would be popping up. "Getting down, I mean."

Naoto stared at Rise for a moment before letting out a small sign of agreement. Walking over to the window, Rise helped support Naoto to descend onto the branch.

She only had a short fall before landing…with a painful-sounding yelp.

"You okay?" Rise called down to her without trying to alert anyone nearby.

"I-I'll be fine…" Naoto groaned out and looked back up at the idol. Rise giggled at the sight of leaves in her hair.

"I need to get going; don't worry, I'll cover for you." Naoto smiled nervously at her before responding.

"Thank you."

Rise waved to her and shut the window. She quickly gathered the discarded bikini and ran out to her sempai.

"Naoto escaped!"

* * *

><p>Naoto seemed even more nervous than before, a huge sense of foreboding washing over her as Yu inserted the final key-card to open the huge iron doors.<p>

Naturally, Rise easily picked up that something was causing her friend/secret girlfriend (by Naoto's choice) distress.

Rise gently placed her hand on her stiff shoulders, making them relax a bit. Naoto looked over to her, and smiled before sighing at Rise's curious glance.

"It… it was something I wish to forget." Rise's curiosity was increased with that statement. Naoto had occasionally talked with her about what her shadow said and about feeling like she had forgotten something. Maybe she did finally remember that? But, what was it to cause such sadness upon the detective?

Before Rise could ask, the doors opened.

As they all stepped inside, they all felt the room go colder and noticed something that wasn't there before.

A huge shadow made of nothing but dark blue or black cloth. It's "face" was more like a hood, completely white. It seemed to be wielding a sword, despite having no body. The sword itself was only a sharp blade and had no other characteristics.

When the team prepared for battle, they all could hear something that seemed like a roar and a whisper.

**"You cannot escape me."**

Right before it lunged for them, Rise was sure Naoto had whispered back.

"…I'm know…"

* * *

><p>Naoto was still being dragged along by Rise, who swore the detective's frown was audible.<p>

"That is not possible," Naoto pointed out once Rise let go. They were nearing Aiya's, anyway.

"C'mon, what are you thinking about? I can't be that bad to hang out with, can I?" Naoto was thinking about something, but it was how weirdly Rise was acting… Granted, she was an idol and must be used to acting, but did she ever act this nervous before?

"…I am just still puzzled on whether or not you made a Phoenix Wright reference when you started to drag me…" Rise looked shocked for a moment but started to laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I did! How do you know about it, Naoto-kun?"

"Someone once recommended it to me. Although the logic in that game was…strange, it was still entertaining."

"I get what you mean. I actually met the people who worked on it once. I believe it was at a convention… They seemed so nice, I tried the game out!"

The two talked about the game and other things whilst waiting for their food. Time flew by and they did not notice until they were served. They ate in a comfortable silence (at least for Naoto) until they were both finished.

"Did you wish to do anything else?" Naoto questioned, ridding the silence for then.

"Oh yeah! Let's go by the flood plain!" Before she could say anything else, Naoto was dragged off again by the idol.

When they reached the river, not many people were around it. Naoto tried to search for the reason Rise wanted to come by here, only to be startled out of her thoughts by her again.

"I'm sorry, Naoto-kun… There…There was a reason I was so late…" Naoto was curious, but felt that it would be better if she did not say anything. Rise still had her back to her, so it was rather hard to figure her out. "What I was trying to do was…was… Oh, darn it Naoto!"

Naoto flinched at the sudden exclamation and by Rise's sudden turn towards her. Her face was bright red and it looked like she was going to cry.

"I like you, okay! I like you a whole lot! So I…" Rise sniffed. "I wanted to try and ask you out and it took me forever to work up the courage but I couldn't and you are so dense!" Rise continued on while Naoto just stood there, her own face bright red.

After Rise let out all of her frustration, she was left there out of breath and crying. She must've attracted a crowd but neither of them cared. Naoto still was at a loss for words.

"U-uh…W-w...I-I jus…Uh…" Rise looked sorrowfully down at her shoes.

"It's okay if you don't like me back… You just have to say it…"

"NO!" Both of them jumped at Naoto's real voice. She coughed once or twice to adjust it and fidgeted. "N-No, I mean, I would l-like to...um…" She trailed off, blushing brighter than ever before.

"Y-you mean?" Rise looked so hopeful; it made Naoto's heart pound even faster.

"Er…Yes, I w-would like to…um…" Naoto stammered even more and Rise practically tackled her with a huge hug.

They both had huge smiles on their faces.

* * *

><p>"Welcome back!" Two voices echoed throughout the house and reached the doorway where Naoto and Rise walked in. As the two removed their shoes, Yakushiji was preparing to leave.<p>

"Hi, Yakushiji-san!" The butler chuckled at the familiar idol.

"Hello Kujikawa-san, how are you today?" Rise frowned at the formality.

"I told you, "Rise" is fine! And I'm doing great, how about you? Where are you off to?"

"I'm just going to grab a few things and head back. Don't cause too much trouble."

"We'll try!" Naoto looked at her, trying to figure out if Rise did cause trouble last time. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Yakushiji laughed and headed out.

The two went into the living room to find Naoto's grandfather sitting in a chair.

"Ah, so you must be this "Rise" I keep hearing about?" Naoto blushed while Rise smiled.

"Yes sir! Nice to meet you!" While he did seem really nice, she did not want this to end up with her getting chased by him wielding a shotgun. Or a detective's pistol, for that matter.

" Yes, Yes, it is very nice to meet you! Oh, I'm terribly sorry Nao-chan, but do you mind going up into my room and grabbing a file for me? It should have this on the tab. I meant to ask Yakushiji but it seems he already went out" He handed her a piece of paper, to which she nodded.

"I will be right back," and she headed off to the stairs.

As the sounds left the two who were still there, the elder Shirogane gave a hard look toward the idol. "Please, sit down." He gestured to the couch that lay across from his chair.

She sat very nervously down as the elder Shirogane peered at her.

"You seem to be very serious about dating my granddaughter."

"Y-yes, I am s-sir." Rise couldn't help but stutter as the older Shirogane seemed to commend that respect just by sitting there. Maybe that was just in Rise's head because soon after she said that, he chuckled.

"Now, there's no need to be. She is very happy with you and because of that, I thank you," he smiled at the idol.

"N-no need to thank me," she was going to continue but the man held up his hand to stop her.

"I know that she has always been a little problematic with certain aspects of socializing, so it really warms my heart that she has finally found someone to trust again." His eyes clouded over with what Rise could only describe as 'pain'. "This brings me to the reason I wished to talk to you about," she was wondering if that had been on purpose. "This is about Naoto, but she cannot tell you about it now, so I thought I should tell you. If you are serious about my granddaughter, then you should know." He took a deep breath and Rise remained silent, fixed on what he could say next.

"When she was little, there was an accident. She and her brother managed to survive, but…she suffered a great damage." The old Shirogane paused to think of the right words.

"She saw terrible things that night, and repressed them. With help she should have been able to remedy this but…those doctors gave her the wrong medicine, and it affected her mind for the worse.

She cannot remember her parents or her brother due to this… She forced herself not to and because of that damned pills, it physically hurts her to." Tears made their way across the man's face and Rise found it hard to stop her own. "But, she is very smart. She wants to remember and because of it, there are nights which… she does. It always badly hurts and… no matter how hard she tries, she will never remember after. Her brother," he stops to wipe away the tears.

"She always went to her brother those nights. He was always able to help her with that pain. She was actually getting better until… her brother passed away… That pain came back and she couldn't remember him either…" Rise struggled to keep in her hiccups of sadness as the Shirogane wrapped it up.

"I saw how she reacts around you and she seems happier than ever before. Please understand how much it means to me to see her smile again." Rise wiped her tears on her sleeve, but it did very little.

"I-I promise," the statement was muffled by her attempts to stop crying. "I won't ever let her be alone again. I-I'll make her happy the best I can!" The old man smiled, walked over to her, and hugged Rise.

"Thank you. You've already done so much."

The door upstairs creaked open and footsteps made their way down to them.

"I managed to find that file so wh-" Naoto looked shocked at the two before quickly rushing to Rise. "Wh-what's the matter, what happened?! Grandfather wha-" Before she could interrogate the two, Rise spoke up.

"I-It's okay Naoto, he just spoiled me on my favorite show!" The older Shirogane let out a hearty laugh.

"I just had to tell you the ending; it was too good to pass up!"

Naoto sighed, "You really need to learn to avoid spoiling people grandfather…" The old man turned to her and gave a mischievous grin.

"Is that so… Hey, did you know that Sherlock d-" "I am not listening."

* * *

><p>"Naoto!" The detective prince was nearly tackled when she walked outside of her classroom. Even though all she could see was a brightly colored blur, it was rather obvious to her who it was.<p>

Rise had now been more adamant than ever to stick to her side, mainly due to her asking Naoto out. Such a proclamation at the time still made the detective blush a bit more and her heart seemed louder. Luckily, when they reached near the end of their sophomore year, Naoto had finally been able to show affection in public- still with a blush, but she was improving!

"Hello Rise," Naoto managed to say while being squeezed by the idol.

"C'mon!" Rise grabbed her hand again while Naoto was still trying to keep her pace. "The exams are coming up, and we need to study!" This could be quickly translated to: You'll try and help me; I'll give up and spend rest of the time trying to make out with you.

Naoto chuckled, thinking about Rise's playful childishness made a warm feeling go off in her chest.

"Wha'cha thinking about?" Called out of her thoughts, she shook off Rise's curiosity and smiled wider.

"I was just thinking of happy things." Rise looked shocked for a moment and her face lit up (actually, everyone did). After a long silence Rise finally broke it by glomping her poor girlfriend.

"KYAAAH! Oh please make that face more often! You are so cuuuuuute!" Rise practically nuzzled into Naoto's shoulder while squeezing her.

"Wah!"

The two spent a long while with Rise trying to calm down and Naoto trying to breathe.

After the fangirling wore off Rise eased up on the pressure she was hugging Naoto at (without actually letting go). Naoto sighed, but eased into the hug. She swore that Rise's childishness really needed to be reined in sometimes.

Her peaceful thoughts were cut off again by Rise grabbing her hat and running.

"R-RISE!" The two began to case each other throughout the school, always with Rise in the lead.

"Make that cute face again and I'll give it back, Naoto~"

"Graah!" The detective ran after Rise, ignoring the stares that they got.

Even if the idol's attitude gave Naoto some problems, it still allowed her to like her even more.

* * *

><p>Through the dark of night, the only source of light Rise received was the moonlight that was not blocked by the curtains. Looking up at the unfamiliar ceiling with sleep still blurring her vision, Rise wondered what had woke her and where she was. She tried to rub her eyes, only to feel a bit of weight on them.<p>

Rise finally remembered where she was and realized that she fell asleep on Naoto's bed. She had almost panicked until she realized that they both were still dressed and they appeared to have fallen asleep while cuddling.

With that, she began to wonder what woke her up again, and turned to Naoto to see if she woke up too.

She was facing away from her, but shivering. Rise reached over with her other hand to try to get up without waking her up.

"…No…" Rise realized then that she wasn't just shivering, she was crying.

"Naoto? What's the matter? Are you okay?" The idol began to panic and tried to get Naoto to face her.

She looked so filled with pain and sadness, Rise was incredibly shocked until she remembered.

The elder Shirogane had warned her.

Rise shifted and hugged Naoto.

"It's going to be okay. You can make it through this. You are strong. I promise."

"I don't know. I don't know what to do. I want remember him; I swear I do but, I feel so guilty for forgetting. It hurts and I can't do anything!" Naoto tried desperately to stop her own tears, but was shaking so terribly.

"I want to remember and yet everything hurts and I won't, I won't, my head is so messed up I can't!" Rise was crying too but still offered comfort to her. "I won't even remember this, but I want to, I really, really do, but I can't because it hurts it hurts and I couldn't even say goodbye!"

"Naoto," Rise held tightly to the shivering girl and shed her own tears. "I'm here." The smaller girl clutched tighter onto the idol. "I'm here and I will never let go."

"..." Naoto tried to speak again but it was too soft for Rise to hear.

"What is it?" Naoto, despite hurting so badly, lifted her head to look at her girlfriend.

"…What if I forget you again?" Rise sighed and gathered all of her thoughts.

"Once we talked…about lighthouses. There are billions of them in the sky. If you ever get lost, they'll lead us to each other. We can meet on the bear's belly." Naoto's sobs quieted, letting Rise know that she had calmed down a bit. "I still haven't thanked you…for what you did back then. Your gift from me is in my room and I always took good care of it…" Naoto chuckled, remembering the weird doll she gave away. She then flinched in pain.

"…Do you…Do you remember our promise?" Naoto's grip tightened.

"Of course I do." Rise kissed her forehead. "We did meet up, so it's fine!" Naoto chuckled as Rise continued on.

"You kept your promise, Naoto. So let me return the favor." She kissed her again but on the lips. "I promise I will stay by your side no matter what. If you forget, I'll find you and support you all the way." Naoto smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I love you."

"I love you, forever and always."


End file.
